Rear ventilation system for vehicle

Abstract

A rear ventilation system for a vehicle includes an air intake pump having a blower disposed within the housing to generate a forced flow of air into a thermal control. The thermal control includes a set of passages which direct air toward a heating and cooling core. The heating and cooling core includes a plurality of thermoelectric element units in communication with a direct current (DC) power supply disposed between a pair of heat exchangers. The plurality of thermoelectric element units absorb or generate heat employing the Peltier effect. The tempered air is delivered to at least one duct extending from the thermal control into the interior of the rear portion of the passenger compartment. A vent outlet in communication with the at least one duct extends into the rear passenger compartment to distribute air from the rear ventilation system.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A rear ventilation system for a vehicle, the ventilation system comprising: 
 an air pump disposed in a trunk of the vehicle, the air intake pump having an air intake passage and a pump housing including a blower mounted within a cavity of the housing to generate a forced air flow through an air outlet;    a thermal control in communication with the air outlet of the air intake pump via an air inlet portion connected to the air outlet of the intake pump, the thermal control including at least one passage that receives the forced air flow from the blower, and an outlet passage; and    a heating and cooling core disposed within the thermal control conditioning the forced air flow from the air intake pump, the heating and cooling core including at least two heat exchangers and a plurality of thermoelectric element units disposed between the heat exchangers, wherein the plurality of thermoelectric element units condition the air based on polarity of current flowing through the elements.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the plurality of thermoelectric element units of the heating and cooling core are arranged electrically in series and thermally in parallel.  
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 at least one duct operatively connected to the outlet passage of the thermal control to supply conditioned forced air flow to a passenger compartment of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3  further comprising: 
 at least one vent outlet in communication with the at least one duct to distribute conditioned air from the thermal control to the passenger compartment to adjust the temperature and flow of air into the compartment.  
 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 at least one duct fluidly coupling the trunk of the vehicle to a passenger compartment to remove air from the passenger compartment for use by the blower in the rear ventilation system.  
 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the thermal control comprises: 
 upper and lower passages in fluid communication with the air outlet of the air intake pump, wherein the upper passage communicates conditioned air to a passenger compartment of the vehicle and the lower passage vents air outside of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  wherein the inlet portion of the thermal control includes a diverter for directing a portion of the air from the intake pump to the lower passage.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one passage of the thermal control includes an upper passage and a lower passage, the system further comprising: 
 a selectively positionable control flap mounted adjacent the air inlet portion of the thermal control to selectively direct substantially all of the forced air flow from the air intake pump into the lower passage for venting outside of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 at least one control interface positioned within a rear portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle for controlling current delivered to the plurality of thermoelectric element units of the heating and cooling core.  
 
     
     
         10 . A ventilation system for a vehicle having a passenger compartment and a trunk, the ventilation system comprising: 
 an air intake pump having a blower for pumping air from an air intake passage in fluid communication with the trunk of the vehicle to generate a forced air flow through an air outlet for the passenger compartment of the vehicle;    a thermal control in communication with the air outlet of the air intake pump via an air inlet portion connected to the air outlet of the intake pump, the thermal control including at least one passage that directs the forced air flow from the blower to a heating and cooling core disposed within the thermal control for conditioning the forced air flow from the air intake pump, the heating and cooling core including at least two heat exchangers and a plurality of thermoelectric element units disposed between the heat exchangers, wherein the plurality of thermoelectric element units condition the air based on polarity of current flowing through the elements; and    at least one duct operatively connected to the thermal control to supply conditioned forced air flow to the passenger compartment of the vehicle.    
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the plurality of thermoelectric element units of the heating and cooling core are arranged electrically in series and thermally in parallel.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the thermal control comprises: 
 an upper passage and a lower passage in fluid communication with the air outlet of the air intake pump, wherein the upper passage communicates conditioned air to the passenger compartment of the vehicle and the lower passage vents air outside of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12  further comprising: 
 a controllable diverter disposed within the thermal control to selectively divert air from the air intake pump to the lower passage to prevent cold air from being delivered to the passenger compartment when the thermal control is in the heating mode.  
 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13  further comprising: 
 at least one duct for fluidly coupling the trunk of the vehicle to a passenger compartment to remove air from the passenger compartment for use by the blower of the intake air pump.  
 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10  further comprising: 
 at least one control interface disposed within a rear portion of the passenger compartment for controlling current delivered to the plurality of thermoelectric elements of the heating and cooling core.  
 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the air pump, thermal control, and at least one duct are independent of a front ventilation system for conditioning air for a front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.  
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 10  further comprising: 
 an independent front ventilation system disposed within an engine compartment of the vehicle for providing conditioned air to a front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         18 . A method for providing heating, cooling, and ventilation to a rear portion of a passenger compartment of a vehicle having a trunk, the method comprising: 
 selectively pumping air from the trunk through a thermal control having a heating and cooling core including a plurality of thermoelectric elements arranged electrically in series and thermally in parallel to condition the air in response to an applied current; and    routing the air from the thermal control to the rear portion of the passenger compartment to provide heating, cooling, and ventilation to the rear portion of the passenger compartment.    
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the step of selectively pumping air comprises: 
 extracting air from the passenger compartment through the trunk; and  
 pumping the extracted air to an exterior of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising: 
 controlling current delivered to the plurality of thermoelectric elements from the rear portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.  
 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising: 
 routing a portion of the air pumped from the trunk through the thermal control and to an exterior of the vehicle to cool the plurality of thermoelectric elements.  
 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the step of routing comprises routing the air below a vehicle floor and above a vehicle underbody to the rear portion of the passenger compartment.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising: 
 conditioning air for a front portion of the passenger compartment using an independent heating, cooling, and ventilation system.